Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) refer to devices which convert chemical energy of substrates acting as electron donors into electric energy using a bacterial catalyst.
Oxygen aeration and treatment of excess sludge comprise the majority of costs associated with treatment of contaminated water such as sewage or waste water. An oxygen aeration apparatus requires increased energy consumption according to an object to be treated, and treatment of contaminated water through oxygen aeration results in generation of large amounts of excess sludge which consists of aerotropic bacteria, causing a cost increase in treatment of excess sludge. To solve such problems, various studies have been conducted with regard to use of microbial fuel cells in treatment of contaminated water.
However, current microbial fuel cells can be used only for experiments and many problems must be overcome for application of microbial fuel cells to treatment of contaminated water.